During the call, the Head of State pointed out that Lithuania and Finland are united by neighborly ties, fruitful cooperation in the EU and other international formats, and now also by a strong bond as NATO allies. President Gitanas Nausėda stressed that Lithuania is interested in strengthening regional cooperation, especially in the areas of security and defense, energy security, curbing irregular migration, and the protection of critical infrastructure.
“Finland is an important ally and partner in ensuring the security of the Baltic Sea region. I am pleased that we will now be able to cooperate even more effectively as NATO allies in countering threats to our region,” the President spoke.
The Lithuanian leader stressed that the NATO Summit in Washington will be the right occasion to demonstrate progress in implementing the agreements reached in Vilnius on regional defense plans, the implementation of the rotational air defense model, and the ambition to allocate at least 2% of GDP to defense.
The Presidents of Lithuania and Finland also discussed measures to combat irregular migration and its instrumentalization. According to Gitanas Nausėda, irregular migration has been used for several years by Russia and Belarus as a tool to undermine and destabilize the Baltic States and other countries on the eastern flank of the EU and NATO. The Lithuanian leader stressed that this is an issue of national security that requires decisive action at both national and EU level.
Gitanas Nausėda invited the President of Finland to visit Lithuania in the near future.
